Would You Kindly Read This

Would you kindly read this post?

I am reminded of the game Bioshock. Most people know of it because of the big daddy, a large being in olden diving suit with a huge drill for a hand and a mean temper. It is an evocative image. But those who played the game will remember Would you kindly…

This is the utterance of what appears to be our mentor in the game, a mean giving us instruction throughout. He seems to be helping us. He appears friend, while spinning a web that eventually leads to our murder of Andrew Ryan, the seeming antagonist of the story. But this

man, with his words Would you kindly, is setting about in our mind the means to his preferred end. We are a pawn, and the words Would you kindly are the command line prompt to our programmed behavior.

It’s made me wonder about the power of words and memories. Are there things so deeply entrenched in our minds, perhaps even unbeknownst to us, that have such powerfully sway over the actions of every day?

When I was younger my father would tell me, “Don’t be sorry, be different.” It stuck with me. But it’s not on the surface of my mind. It sits below, where memories bob in deep pools of subconscious. It is not a thought to entertain, but something more. Something now a part of my fiber. And it rises to the surface when I ponder Would you kindly. That’s not to say that my father used it to manipulate me, but it has that same kind of power. The power to steer a ship. I am the ship.